contributions

In the digital 21st century it seems almost impossible to have a conversation without the bleeping interruption of a rude third party. Thanks to smartphones we can check facts, watch a funny video or take a quick peek at facebook and stalk our latest romance under the table. But what about the human being sitting opposite?

In her mind at least, Francesca has never left her 'erasmus' city, Paris. Back in Rome, the Italian languages and literature student has written this appeal to the erasmus generation; in its 25 years of existence the student exchange programme has moulded almost two million students across Europe, and is now threatened with closure

Generation X became generation Y and the ‘internship generation’ is a recurring topic. However, whichever letters or titles are selected for it, no one can really get a hold on us. Can we really all be lumped together, technically-speaking, in terms of a generation? German writers Manuel J.

On 15 March tens of thousands of Hungarians protested against the government's planned media law. Even the European parliament's socialist, liberal, ecologist and far left politicians adopted a resolution asking for the suspension of the law, which 'needs re-examination'. Republication of an interview with a Rue89 journalist

Germany has long been legendary as an immigrant’s paradise. For several years now, more people have been leaving the country than are actually entering it. Among them are some of the most highly educated young Germans who are turning their backs on the country because of discrimination

The Italian director's short film Archipelago (2010) explores the West Bank from its various forms of transport. The arduous journey from Ramallah to Jerusalem and back highlights the absurdity of the situation that Israel and Palestine have been in for decades. A cinematic stop-start journey through the very ordinary day-to-day life of a Palestinian cross-border worker.

His dream was free electricity for the world with no cables involved. David Bowie has incarnated him in Hollywood and Serbia's biggest airport is named after him. Why is it that we have barely heard of this scientist in western Europe?

Physical threats or threats of court action, unstable salaries and a lack of recognition. In a country which only ranked 104th on the 2010 world press freedom index compiled by reporters without borders (RWB), the journalist’s profession entails quite a number of downsides.

In Germany sustainability is in. Germans are buying organic yoghurt, separating their rubbish meticulously and not leaving the tap on when they brush their teeth. But, to be honest, they are actually being inconsistent, for they do also sometimes use a low-cost airline to jet across Europe, they cannot resist new trainers and they eat tomatoes in winter.

The revival of the German-French axis after the numerous discords of recent years should be greeted with pleasure. Yet in the Merkel-Sarkozy era there is not much left of what was once the ‘driving force for European integration’. A Franco-German ‘competitiveness pact’ suggests a lost sense of solidarity and a deep distrust of EU institutions